The People Power Party criticized the government’s September 3 announcement on the principles and implementation direction for the second phase of relocating public institutions to regional areas. Chief Assembly Spokesperson Choi Soo-jin said the plan supports balanced national development in principle but does not specify which institutions will move, where they will go or how large the relocation will be. She also said the government had failed to properly assess the first phase, whose effects were limited to areas near innovation cities and followed by net population outflow after 2023. Choi warned that mass relocation and temporary steps such as leasing private buildings could repeat earlier shortcomings without adequate consultation with labor groups and local governments. The party also criticized plans to merge institutions with overlapping functions and consolidate smaller public bodies. Representative Yoon Sang-hyun said integration should include targets for reducing workforce, personnel costs and debt, and called for the proposal to turn the Incheon Port Authority into a regional branch to be reconsidered because port authorities face different supporting industries, logistics needs and growth strategies.